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Dragon 22	-	Best of Dragon, Vol. II	-	Dragon

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® pioneered role playing in the gaming hobby. It brought fantasy before hobbyists, and it set before them
a game-form most had never heard of. Perhaps 150,000 persons now
play D&D®, but it was by no means an instant success. 1,000 boxed
sets, hand assembled and labled, took eleven months to sell, another
1,000 of the same took only five or six months to sell (and Tactical
Studies Rules was thrilled). Finally a third printing of 2,000 sold in
five months. So from January, 1974, to December, 1975, only 4,000
sets of the original version of the game were in circulation. (Of course,
I have no way of knowing how many pirated copies of D&D were in
existence, but some estimates place the figure at about 20% of the total
sales, some as high as 50%. In any case 5,000 or 6,000 sets was certainly nothing to set the gaming world on fire, or was it?) Today the “Basic
Set” sells 4,000 copies per month, and the sales graph is upwards.

A month has not gone by in the last two years when I haven’t been
interviewed by one or more newspaper writers or independent journalists who want to know all about D&D. I have likewise been interviewed by radio and TV news media, generally for the same reason. At
the risk of claiming too much for the game, I have lately taken to likening the whole to Aristotle’s POETICS, carrying the analogy to even
more ridiculous heights by stating that each Dungeon Master uses the
rules to become a playwrite (hopefully of Shakespearean stature),
scripting only plot outlines however, and the players become the Thespians.

Before incredulity slackens so as to allow the interviewer to become hostile, I hasten to add that the analogy applies only to the basic
parts of the whole pastime, not to the actual merits of D&D, its DMs,
or players. If you consider the game, the analogy is actually quite apt.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is like none other in that it requires the
game master to create part or all of a fantasy world. Players must then
become personae in this place and interact with the other populace.
This is, of course a tall order for all concerned — rules, DM, and players alike.

Relating a basic adventure, an episodic game session in the campaign, to a trip in an underground labyrinth does help the uninitiated
to understand the simplest D&D fundamentals — discover an
unknown area, move around in it by means of descriptive narration
from the Dungeon Master, overcome whatever obstacles are there
(traps, problems, monsters), and return with whatever has been
gained during the course of the whole. The DM takes the part of
everything in this fantasy world which is not operated by a player.
While this should not mean it is then a game of DM versus the players,
it does mean that DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a co-operative game
where players must interact successfully amongst themselves first, and
non-hostile portions of the campaign milieu thereafter, in order to be
successful. The Dungeon Master is incidentally against the players
when he or she is operating that part of the “world” which is hostile,
or potentially so, but in general the referee must be disinterested.

At about this point I am always asked: “Well, then, how do you
win? who wins?!” The answer is, EVERYBODY — providing that the
game is well run. The DM gets the satisfaction of testing his abilities
against those of the players, the fun of taking the non-player parts,
and the accolades of participants when a particularly well-done adventure or series has been completed. Players enjoy the challenges of each
situation and have the prospect of continuing adventures and puzzles
to confront them, each with his or her game persona. Thus all taking
part in the campaign get something besides a momentary diversion.
Winning no more applies to D&D than it does to real life. The successful DMs and players gain renown via their campaigns or their

superior characters. To enthusiasts of the game it is far more satisfying
than triumphing in a single game or whole series of games.

Simply stated, D&D is a multi-player game of fantasy role playing, where the rules give systems of resolution for common game
occurrences, lists and explanations of things which are not actual
(monsters, spells, magic items, etc.), systems for interaction, and suggestions as to how to put this into the campaign, i.e. create the milieu.
Once begun, the campaign continues until the DM and/or all of the
players decide it should end. As with any exercise in fantasy it requires
suspension of disbelief. Those who find the game interesting will soon
enough thereafter create their own sort of involvement and belief. But
why is such a game (and similar fantasy role playing games, for that
matter) so popular? What is its appeal!?

Our modern world has few, if any, frontiers. We can no longer
escape to the frontier of the West, explore Darkest Africa, sail to the
South Seas. Even Alaska and the Amazon Jungles will soon be lost as
wild frontier areas. Furthermore, adventures are not generally possible anymore. The frontiers are receding into memories, modern communications make all of the world available to casual travellers, and
the most backward places are becoming more and more civilized. Certainly it is still possible to go scuba diving, mountain climbing, auto
racing, sky diving, and so on. These are expensive and risky for no real
purpose in most cases. One can also have adventures as a criminal, or
possibly as an agent of the government (if one is sufficiently qualified),
but the former is distasteful to say the least, and the latter is most
unlikely. Americans, with more leisure today than ever, crave entertainment. Some desire adventure and excitement. Obviously, various
entertainment media are doing big business — TV, motion pictures,
spectator sports, recreational vehicles, sporting goods, book publishers, and game manufacturers are all growing. “Escape fiction” sells
better today than ever, and witness the success of the recent science fiction and fantasy films.

Looking towards space and the future for new frontiers and
adventure is logical. The universe has fascinated mankind since
recorded history, and today it seems quite probable that within a few
decades numbers of us will live off of the earth, and in a century or so
we will travel to the stars. Perhaps there will be frontiers and adventure
enough then for all who care to test their mettle. But it is no less surprising for us to look into the realms of fantasy for imagined adventure. Most literate people grow up on a diet of fairy tales, Walt Disney,
and comic book superheroes. We somehow relate to stories of young
princes going out into the world to seek their fortune, of knights rescuing maidens in distress and slaying dragons, of dealings with wicked
magicians and evil witches. The myth of all peoples contain great
stocks of such fantasy lore. If nothing else, the desire to believe in such
seems to be innate in humanity. Whether or not there are parallel
worlds or places where fantastic creatures actually live and magic
works is not germane, for most of us are familiar with the concepts as
if they were actual, and we have a desire to become involved, if only
vicariously, amongst such heroic epics of magic and monsters. It is
therefore scarcely surprising that a game which directly involves participants in a make-believe world of just such nature should prove
popular; and had I reasoned out the enthusiasm it roused amongst the
first few who played it, it would have been evident that D&D was
destined to become a very popular game indeed. (Naturally, hindsight
is usually a 20/20 proposition, and the fact is I wrote the game for a
small audience of devoted miniatures players . . . )

If millions take to the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien, and nearly as many follow the heroic feats of Conan, the market potential of a

game system which provides participants with a pastime which creates
play resembling these adventuresome worlds and their inhabitants is
bounded only by its accessibility. Access has two prominent aspects;
availability is the first; that is, are potential players informed of the
fact that the game exists, and are they able to physically obtain it; and
difficulty is the second, for if once obtained the game is so abstruse as
to be able to be played only by persons with intelligence far above the
norm, or if the game demands a volume of preliminary work which is
prohibitive for the normal individual, this will be recognized and the
offering shunned even if it is available. D&D failed on both counts,
and still its following grew. Today we are putting D&D onto the track
where it is envisioned it will have both maximum availability and
minimum difficulty. This is best illustrated in the “Basic Set.”

Well over two years ago we recognized that there was a need for
an introductory form of the game. In 1977 the colorfully boxed “Basic
Set” was published. It contained simplified, more clearly written
rules, dungeon geomorphs, selections of monsters and treasures to
place in these dungeons, and a set of polyhedra dice — in short all that
a group of beginning players need to start play with relative ease. Later
editions have cleaned up most of the flaws in the first, and the newest
will do away with the geomorphs and list of monsters and treasures in
favor of a complete basic module, so that difficulty will be reduced
even further.

This should broaden the game’s appeal to a base in the
millions, and then the major factor becomes availability. Popular de
mand always increases availability, and D&D has been blessed by its
enthusiasts most generously in this regard. Coupled with the work be
ing done by TSR to publicize and promote the game, the availability
factor will also be maximized over the next few years. Finally, to main
tain interest, a series of new and interesting modular dungeon and out
door scenarios, as well as more playing aids, will be made available
periodically. The number of D&D players should certainly continue to
mushroom for several years.

Fanatical game hobbyists often express the opinion that DUN
GEONS & DRAGONS will continue as an ever-expanding, always im
proving game system. TSR and I see it a bit differently. Currently
D&D is moving in two directions. There is the “Original” game system
and the new ADVANCED D&D® system. New participants can
move from the “Basic Set” into either form without undue difficulty
— especially as playing aid offerings become more numerous, and that
is in process now. Americans have somehow come to equate change
with improvement. Somehow the school of continuing evolution has
conceived that D&D can go on in a state of flux, each new version
“new and improved!” From a standpoint of sales, I beam broadly at
the very thought of an unending string of new, improved, super,
energized, versions of D&D being hyped to the loyal followers of the
gaming hobby in general and role playing fantasy games in particular.
As a game designer I do not agree, particularly as a gamer who began
with chess. The original could benefit from a careful reorganization
and expansion to clarify things, and this might be done at some future
time. As all of the ADVANCED D&D system is not written yet, it is a
bit early for prognostication, but I envision only minor expansions
and some rules amending on a gradual, edition to edition, basis. When
you have a fine product, it is time to let well enough alone. I do not
believe that hobbyists and casual players should be continually barrag
ed with new rules, new systems, and new drains on their purses. Cer
tainly there will be changes, for the game is not perfect; but I do not
believe the game is so imperfect as to require constant improvement.

Does this mean that D&D will be at a dead end when the last of
AD&D® is published? Hardly! Modules and similar material will con
tinue to be released so as to make the DM’s task easier and his or her
campaign better. Quite frankly, the appeal of D&D rests principally
upon the broad shoulders of the hard-working Dungeon Masters. The
rules never need improvement if the DM is doing a proper job, but of
course he or she can do so only if the rules are sufficient to allow this.
With refined rules and modular additions, all aspects of a long lived
and exciting campaign will unquestionably be there for the DM to
employ. Will D&D dead end when its novelty dies? That is impossible
to answer. It is my personal opinion that the game form is a classic
which is of the same stamp as chess and MONOPOLY® ; time will be
the judge. No doubt that there is a limit to the appeal of the game in
any of its current forms. If tens of millions play a relatively simple, so

cial sort of a game such as MONOPOLY, it is a sure thing that a far
more difficult game such as D&D will have a much more limited audience. As the game cannot be simplified beyond a certain point, we
look to another means of popularizing it.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS can be played on a computer. Computers are most certainly a big aspect of the near future, particularly
the home computer. Non-programmable computer games are already
making big inroads into the toy and hobby market. They will grow still
more, and soon programmable games will join this trend. D&D program cassettes plugged into a home computer would obviate the need
for a DM or other players. Thus the labor of setting up a campaign or
the necessity of having a fairly large group to play in it would be removed. The graphic display would be exciting, and the computer
would slave away doing all of the record work and mechanics
necessary to the game, giving nearly instantaneous results to the player
or players. Computerization of D&D has many other benefits also,
and such games would not destroy the human-run campaign but supplement game participation. This is the direction we hope to make
available to D&D. Let’s see if my foresight is as keen as my hindsight.

All that being so, what is the purpose of this column, the reader
may justifiably inquire? Well, as I make no claim to perfection, no
such claim can be made for ADVANCED D&D or D&D for that matter. This column will cover controversial rules or systems, problem
and so-called problem areas of D&D/AD&D, and consider new
material as well. If the games are not to be continually changing and
“evolving,” neither is it envisioned that they have reached such a state
of perfection so as to become immutable. What appears herein is
discussion which will sometimes lead to alteration, amendment, or expansion of one or the other system. Initially, what you read here will be
direct from me, but all DMs — and players also — are invited to submit article material of high calibre. A glance at the introductory sections of all of the works comprising the D&D/AD&D systems will
show that many individuals contributed to the designs. The list in the
forthcoming DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE is longer still. All of
these individuals, and the audience at large, are cordially invited to
submit their thoughts and opinions on pertinent matters. If I am not to
be “the great god gygax,” a claim I have never made nor supported,
there must be input which presents argumentation and systems which
are meaningful alternatives to replace or augment existing rules and
systems. This is not to say that anyone’s favorite variant, even if welldesigned, is likely to become D&D/AD&D, but at worst reasons for
why it is unacceptable will be given, and the possible results could be a
major change in the game.

So here is your forum. Let us hope it becomes a useful and meaningful exchange!